Thanks Staff & mf1 - I phoned the office of my fathers solicitor about three weeks ago to ask if they had the Deeds and also for an Affidavit of Attesting Witness (Will was dated with just the year, no day/month). I asked the staff member who took the call if she would like me to put the request in writing and she said no need, that she'd get back to me. When I got no return call I phoned a week later and left message with receptionist that I'd phoned. Still no call back so I phoned yesterday and asked for the person I had spoken to in the original call three weeks ago. I was told she was at a meeting. I had a call back shortly after from the principal of the firm, who was one of the witnesses to my fathers Will. There was no chit chat - no "sorry to hear about your Dad" - but he said "you'll be in and out of the Probate Office?" I said yes and he said "If they ask for the affidavit then let us know". Regarding the Deeds he said "Have you checked with your fathers bank and I said that I had" and the call ended. I phoned back a couple of minutes later and asked for the original Will, saying I'd visit their offices to collect it. I was told by the lady who answered the phone that they'd get back to me as the Will was held off-site. I don't get a particularly warm feeling but I stress there has been no rudeness. I now think it's possible that they in fact do have the Deeds but possibly just haven't checked. Once the mortgage was paid off I'm pretty sure he would have given them to his solicitors, who acted for him when he bought the house in 1965.
My father was a stickler for detail and for doing things right - always paid bills on time as a matter of honour. When his solicitors handled my mothers very modest estate (she died 2014 and my father had a stroke 2 weeks before she died) I was the one that dealt with the solicitor (not the principal - never met him) and the thing that my father pushed me to get done asap was payment of the funeral directors and repayment of the Fair Deal loan. Despite his accusing me of not handling things right I was never tempted to badger the solicitor handling my mothers probate. Of course I did tell her that due to the delays my father thought I was not handling things efficiently but I never got irritated even when a delay was caused by the loss of my mothers Post Office book - I accepted her explanation that the Post Office had lost it. It took 18 months for Probate to issue.
I don't need the Deeds just yet as I have yet to lodge the application for probate with the Probate Office, but I would like to know where the Deeds are as we will be selling the house once probate issues. It's possible that they are in the house somewhere but I doubt it as I think we'd have come across them.
I have a Vesting Cert showing that he bought out the freehold and I got from the Registry of Deeds a Copy of Memorial. There is no Folio No. as it appears my father never registered the deeds.